Title: Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service (Link to Purchase)

Author: Disney Institute with Theodore Kinni

Disney Institute’s Be Our Guest book was an amazing book to read, especially because I am a Disney kid at heart. I will be transparent and say that I was very nervous to read this book because I was scared that the book would reveal too much of the details of the Disney magic that it would scar my future experiences. 

I could NOT have been more wrong about this! In fact, I am even more excited to go back to Disney so that I can marvel at the processes that make this organization a well-oiled machine. The attention to detail has always been magnificent to me while visiting Disney as a consumer, as I love the details of the furnishings in the park and how it extends throughout your Disney stay from their hotels, shuttles, shopping centers and more. Now after reading this book, it is more apparent how the magic in the details would be nothing if it wasn’t first cultivated in the Disney employees. From their first expressed interest in seeking employment at Disney all the way through their tenure as a Disney cast member, the company culture is intertwined throughout their entire employee experience in order to accomplish their one goal: to exceed guest happiness of guests of all ages. 

Key Takeaways:

• The Power of a Magical Experience – Customer service is about strengthening the bond between the customer and the company. The inscription at the front of the book, while short, is very powerful. “Always remember, the magic begins with you.” One cast member, one employee, one individual can make a difference in the way that a customer can experience your company. One customer’s magical experience with your company lends them to having a stronger bond with your company, resulting in becoming a long-term customer, and even referring others to experience the magic that they are. 
• Know Your Customers: Who They Are & Who They are NOT – Data is your friend, as well as a tool. Use it to gain insight into your current customers and potential customers in your pipeline. Learn what it is that they are looking to achieve when working with you, and what they are looking to avoid. Once you take the time to learn your customer and identify your ideal customers, you inadvertently also learn who they are not, saving you time and resources from engaging the wrong audience or messaging. 
• Emotional Connection Drives Financial Action – Per the book, the goal is to create a positive emotional connection with your customers, even when customers are deducting the cost of their purchase. As a parent who has taken my kids to Disney, I DEFINITELY understand this. No matter how much you save and plan for your family trip to Disney, there will always be an additional Mickey Bar frozen treat, a requested stuffed memento to take home, or set of mouse ears that are just a tad bit different from the ones you bought from home. All of these unplanned items tug at your wallet, but the winning tug is the one that it does to your heart strings when you know that you are the reason that this magical core memory is forming for your family. At that moment, how can you say no?
• Everyone is a VIP – Treating customers as they are a “very important, very individual person” is the key to expressing courtesy to each and every customer. This includes actively listening to their needs, tailoring their solution to fit their needs, and of course thanking them for reaching out to you so you can help them. “Guests may not always be right, but they are always our Guests”(pg 50).
• Mind Shift to Courtesy, Gratitude & Grace – We have all experienced a customer who may not have the best attitude, or asks the same question multiple times, or broke something that you told them not to touch. “Guests sometimes make mistakes…providing a magical experience means solving problems our guests create with the SAME dedication as other issues we tackle”(pg 159). Yes it may be irritating, but if you start your approach with courtesy, gratitude and grace for the customer, your response will shift and follow suit. 
• Continue to Improve with “Plussing” – Challenge your team to continuously review the processes, even if the desired result is being achieved. There is always an opportunity to improve it for the business or for the customers to enhance their experience.

Notable Quotes:

• “Always remember, the magic begins with you.”(inscription)
• “If the little wows are delivered consistently and continuously, they add up to a Big Wow!” (pg 14)
• When the team members operate without guidance and consistency, everything will shift” (pg18)
• “Goal is to create a positive emotional connection even when customers are dedicating the cost of their purchase” (pg 38)
• “The quality standard of courtesy requires that every guest be treated like a VIP – that is, a very important, very individual person…it means treating them the way that they want to be treated, with recognition and respect for their emotions, abilities and cultures.”(pg 49)
• “To create a new vision and mission capable of uniting every one working within an organization or business unit, it only makes sense that everyone, or at least a team that represents everyone, be enlisted in the effort. Employees themselves need to define their work in relation to customers and the common purpose and decide what role they will play in the accomplishment of that purpose.” (pg 82)
• “You can’t change people. But if you change the environment that people are in, they will change.” (pg 94)
• “Doesn’t matter how sophisticated your documentation is if you are not able to thoroughly prepare your staff to embody and employ the documentation.” (pg 146)
• “Guests sometimes make mistakes…providing a magical experience means solving problems our guests create with the SAME dedication as other issues we tackle”(pg 159).

Six Tips for Culture-Building:

1. Keep it Simple – Using our company values as a guide, we are keeping our culture lean and efficient. We want all of our team members to feel comfortable with the culture without a lot of paperwork to review or memorize. As simple as our tagline is (“We focus on Salesforce. You focus on Business.”), we are taking the same simplistic approach in the type of culture we want to build. We are good people that want to do good things in Salesforce for others. 
2. Make it Global – In order for our culture to successfully be embodied, it must start from the top down. The Leadership team must be apart of building and implementing the culture in the company and in their teams. Additionally, the components that make the culture should be front and center in various places around the company. It’s constant presence should make it seamless to connect the culture to one’s speak and behavior. “You can’t change people. But if you change the environment that people are in, they will change.” (pg 94)
3. Make it Measurable –  Our goals for building our companies culture will have some measurable components to it, including qualitative and quantitative data, from our team members. This helps us to identify our progress towards our goals, as well as adjust the pace if need be. 
4. Provide training and coaching – Starting at the onboarding process, team members will receive details of our culture and how it is embody in their day-to-day roles at the company. All training documents will be available, continuously reviewed for enhancements and used for coaching moments by managers and leadership.
5. Solicit feedback and ideas from the team – Without feedback and data, how does one know if the culture that is being built is resonating with the team members? Team members have ample opportunities to provide feedback and ideas of how to enhance our culture, including reaching out to their managers, key frustrations and idea global submission form and annual employee surveys.
6. Recognize and reward performance – Celebrations and shout-outs are extremely important, especially in a virtual office environment. It helps to break-up the monotony of reporting out on the day-to-day results of the business, and brings some personality to the culture. We love to celebrate the wins of our team members through shout-outs in Slack or company meetings, gifting small tokens to celebrate performance milestones, or in ways that are meaningful to that specific team member. 

Next Steps to Ponder:

Magic is not just for children and the wonderful world of Disney. Magic is for anyone and everyone who believes that there is more than what the eye can see. Believers in magic want to experience the magic with all their senses – smell, hear, sight, taste and touch. The customer service experience should include all of these components in some way at some point, if possibly.

Where is the magic in your organization? Is it visible to the customers? Do your employees know the power in their ability to deliver magical customer experiences to customers? If not, empower them with this knowledge AND the tools/training to exceed!